Corrado Clini has served as Director General of Italy’s Ministry for the Environment since 1990, where he has overseen national programmes on sustainable development, environmental quality and the development of new energy technologies. In this capacity he has headed over 260 international cooperative programs for environmental protection and emissions reduction in Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa, Asia, and Central and South America.

Keynote speech: Luis Pais Correia, Chief Executive Officer, Northern Europe Zone, Dalkia International (UK). The role of the private sector in fighting climate change: the London Action Plan and beyond.

Luis Pais Correia is the CEO of Dalkia International Northern Europe, in charge of the Scandinavian countries, the UK, Ireland and Benelux since 2008. He is a chartered engineer, holds an MBA and a PhD from EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), and is also the Chairman of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK.

Juha Hulkkonen (MSc, MBA) leads development of business services for public sector at IBM Finland. He acts as an adviser for research and development organizations in the advisory board for State Research Centre of Finland services and in a network of government agencies and private sector companies established to promote intelligent transportation solutions.

Michael Denkel studied spatial and environmental planning at the University of Kaiserslautern. He is a partner at the architecture and planning office of AS&P ­ Albert Speer & Partner. As the office is internationally active, Mr. Denkel has worked as an urban planner on projects in Germany, China, Nigeria and the Middle-East.

Brigitte Dufour-Fallot has a degree in environment policies from Lausanne Higher Studies Institute of Public Administration (IDHEAP). She co-founded and leads Bio-Eco, an organization that works with communities, institutions and private clients to set sustainable development objectives.

11.30-11.50 a.m. Q&A session

11.50 a.m. Cecil Konijnendijk, University of Copenhagen and WoodSCAPE consultant (Denmark). Urban forestry, cities and climate change – The role of urban forests and trees in mitigation, adaptation and awareness raising.

Cecil Konijnendjik has studied and promoted the role of trees and woodlands in urban areas throughout his career. His present work covers research, policy advice, education and training of urban forestry professionals. He has coordinated several international networks and research projects on urban forestry. Cecil is editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.

Nikolai Bobylev is an environmental scientist working on urban infrastructure, environmental assessment and multiple criteria decision analysis. He has been researching sustainability and vulnerability of underground infrastructure at theUnited Nations University and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

For the last two decades, Peter Droege has focused his research on environmental issues with a special consideration for urban design and planning. Since the end of the 1990s he has devoted his attention was devoted to the changing global energy situation. He is the author and editor of several publications: currently in progress are 100 Percent Renewable - Energy Autonomy in Action (Earthscan) and Climate Change and Design (Thames and Hudson, with EDAW).

Mathieu Laperelle is specialized in sustainable development, environmental quality, land management and architecture. In 1991, he co-founded the architectural firm Laperrelle and Koscielski, which develops different projects that take into consideration social and environmental needs.

Zdravko Genchev has studied housing architecture and housing policy. He has been Secretary of the Union of Architects in Bulgaria, head of the Housing Policy Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Housing Policy, and Director General of the National Centre for Regional Development and Housing Policy.

Keynote speech: Wolfgang Feist, founder of the Passive House Institute (Germany). Walking the walk – not just talking the talk: Passive House Technology can solve most energy related problems.

Wolfgang Feist studied physics at the University of Tübingen. Since 1975 he has worked with sustainable energy, initially studying municipal energy concepts. From 1981 to 1985 he developed, at the University of Kassel, the "Next Bildenden Energy Study" and later founded the Passive House Institute, which conducts research on the effectiveness of high energy efficiency in buildings.

Paul Rode is in charge of developing large infrastructure projects implemented through guaranteed performance agreements in the New York Metro area. This work includes energy performance contracting, energy savings guarantees, distributed generation, and operations studies. He is a professional engineer with a Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering from Manhattan College, New York.

Charles Magnier has been the Director of Prioriterre for 12 years. He is an expert on sustainable development and its application for business. He works with various companies to elaborate development strategies incorporating notions of sustainable development. He is also a lecturer on communication at the University of Savoie and on sustainable development at the European Superior Institute of Poisy.

Andrew Waugh is a founding Director of Waugh Thistleton. He is passionate about architecture and the built environment outside as well as within the practice. Andrew lectures internationally on the environmental impact of architecture and construction. He also teaches at a number of architecture schools in London, and is an external examiner for the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Susan Roaf is Professor of Architectural Engineering at Heriot Watt University and Visiting Professor at the Open University. She publishes widely on traditional technologies, sustainable buildings, ecohouse design and adapting buildings and cities for climate change. She designed and lives in the Oxford Ecohouse, the first UK building with a photovoltaic roof.

4.30 p.m. Erkin Boronbaev, Professor, Vice-Rector, Department of Heat-Gas Supply and Ventilation, Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transportation and Architecture. The idea of Climate Neutral Settlements: a reason for population motivation and involvement (in Kyrgyzstan).

Erkin Boronbaev is a professor of the Russian Federation, and an “Educational Deserved Worker” of the Kyrgyz Republic. He has been working on the challenge of energy efficiency in buildings since 1970 and has drafted more then 100 scientific publications including Improving the Energy Efficiency of Buildings: Background, Theory, Practice.

4.40 p.m. Tzveta Naniova, United Nations Development Programme (Bulgaria). Energy efficiency improvement in multifamily houses as part of urban development plans in Bulgaria.

Tzveta Naniova has over 10 years of experience in development and management of programmes in the area of regional development and social cohesion. During the last three years she has been involved in a demonstration project for housing renovation to develop and test a full cycle of renovation action on multifamily buildings.

Edmundo Werna is an expert at the International Labour Organization in urban development and the construction industry, presently focusing on activities related to green jobs in construction. He has carried out many activities related to environmental protection, such as projects aiming at sustainable urban development and environmental health activities.

Wolfgang Foerster studied architecture, planning and political sciences in Vienna and Graz and holds a PhD in technical sciences. From 1988 to 2001 he was Deputy Director of Vienna Housing Fund. Since 2001, he has been Head of the Vienna Regional Housing Research Division, in charge of Area Renewal Offices and international cooperation in the fields of urban renewal and housing.

Pierre Maudet studied law in Fribourg, Switzerland. He has been very active in the political life of Geneva for the last 10 years – and was recently appointed administrative counselor of the city. He is supporting a greener Geneva through many sustainable development policies and other environmental friendly